Comprehensive Review of the Legal System to Complete the Institutional Framework

On April 29, the Ministry of Justice organized a training conference to implement the task of comprehensively reviewing the system of normative legal documents, held in a hybrid format at 34 provincial-level People’s Committees and 3,321 commune-level points. In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister of Justice Nguyen Thanh Tinh, a member of the Steering Committee, stated that the conference was held nationwide with nearly 10,000 cadres, civil servants, and officials participating. Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Tinh noted that the XIV Party Congress and subsequent orientations continue to reaffirm that the institutional framework is one of the three strategic breakthroughs, while setting out more specific and clearer requirements on the quality of building and completing the legal system. In the context of simultaneously implementing several major tasks to complete the institutional framework according to resolutions and Central Committee conclusions, this round of comprehensive review is an important milestone, a foundational starting point to implement the goal of completing the institutional framework — a key strategic breakthrough. According to the Deputy Minister, the requirements of this review are very high and substantive, aiming to comprehensively assess the current status of the legal system: clearly identifying regulations that remain in conflict or overlap; content that no longer fits reality; legal gaps that have not kept pace with new social relations, especially issues related to human rights, citizens' rights, and the demands of socio-economic development in the new period. More importantly, this round of review must clarify the degree of institutionalization of the Party's leadership and direction, especially the content of the XIV National Congress and recent thematic resolutions. The institution is not only a management tool but must truly become a tool to create and open the way for development, helping to resolve bottlenecks, difficulties, and obstacles. "To be concrete, through this comprehensive review we must answer two major questions: First, where and on what timetable does the legal system need to be amended and completed? Second, are the difficulties and obstacles in practice due to legal provisions or to implementation? This is also the overarching requirement of the Central authorities, to identify the exact causes and have breakthrough solutions for reforming the legal system under the new structure," emphasized Deputy Minister Nguyen Thanh Tinh. According to the plan, by no later than July 10, localities must send preliminary reports to the Steering Committee via the Ministry of Justice. To ensure quality, the review must be conducted using a bottom-up approach: from communes, departments, and agencies to the provincial level; while evaluating both central and local legal systems. The process requires clear assignment of tasks, broad participation of affected subjects, with consultation and independent assessment. The Steering Committee will also deploy an IT support system, including the use of artificial intelligence to assess report quality, detect content duplication, and record high-quality reports. A special note is on administrative procedure reform; the Deputy Minister states that this is a highly topical issue linked to decentralization, reducing, simplifying procedures, and eliminating business conditions in accordance with central resolutions and government directives. The review must assess the adequacy of new regulations, the effectiveness of enforcement at the local level, and most importantly, the real experiences of people and businesses. At the conference, delegates heard reports on several topics: The key contents to note when implementing the comprehensive review of the system of normative legal documents; Guidelines for organizing and implementing the comprehensive review of normative legal documents; Guidelines for reviewing and proposing handling of documents related to implementing the policy to develop the private sector economy; Guidelines for reviewing and proposing handling of documents to cut down, simplify professional, investment, business conditions, and impractical administrative procedures, thereby reducing compliance costs...